1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus configured to record moving image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an apparatus capable of recording moving image data on a disc-like shaped recording medium, such as a digital versatile disk (DVD), has been marketed. Furthermore, an apparatus has been recently marketed which is capable of recording high-quality moving image data on a very high-capacity disk medium, such as a Blu-ray Disc or a High Definition-DVD (HD-DVD), for a long period of time.
Such an apparatus encodes moving image data according to Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 or MPEG-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) (H.264) to compress the data amount and records the compressed data on a recording medium. In reproducing moving image data recorded in the above-described manner, it is necessary to decode the moving image data read from a disk medium to decompress the data. In decoding moving image data, it is necessary for an apparatus to verify a content of the moving image data read from a disk medium. That is, it is necessary, in this case, for an apparatus to refer to information about a temporal length, the number of pixels, and an aspect ratio of the moving image data.
In this regard, there is known a conventional method for separately recording information necessary for decoding moving image data as management information for the moving image data. With such a method, information necessary for decoding moving image data can be obtained without verifying the content of the moving image data. Accordingly, an apparatus using such conventional method can perform optimum processing for reproducing moving image data.
For example, in a case where moving image data is coded according to the MPEG coding method, the management information includes information about a position on a recording medium of an I picture in the moving image data. Accordingly, for example, a fast-forward reproduction can be implemented by consecutively reading only I pictures from the recording medium, decoding the read I pictures, and displaying the decoded pictures.
Such a conventional method is generally employed in a format for recording moving image data on a disk medium, such as DVD-Video format, DVD Video Recording (VR) format, and Blu-ray disk-read only memory (BD-ROM) format.
In reproducing a plurality of moving image data recorded on a disk medium, it is necessary to move an optical pickup unit to an address (track) of the disk medium on which moving image data to be reproduced is recorded. Such an operation for moving the optical pickup unit is referred to as a “seeking operation”.
If a plurality of moving image data to be consecutively reproduced exists at mutually distant positions on a disk medium, a reproduction operation may be interrupted by a seeking operation. It is useful to seamlessly reproduce moving image data even when a plurality of moving image data to be consecutively reproduced exists at mutually distant positions on a disk medium.
In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-4850 discusses a method in which identification information for identifying moving image data to be subsequently reproduced is included in management information as seamless information (consecutive reproduction information) in order to enable seamlessly reproducing moving image data.
The method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-4850 is directed to address problems associated with reproduction only. Accordingly, in the case of recording moving image data in real time with a recording apparatus (e.g., a digital video camera) employing such a conventional method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-4850, the following problems arise in recording management information on a recording medium.
That is, seamless information including identification information for identifying moving image data to be subsequently reproduced cannot be generated before recording the moving image data. Accordingly, in recording moving image data in real time, management information is recorded after moving image data to be subsequently reproduced is completely recorded.
In generating management information, if all moving image data to be recorded on a disk medium has been previously and completely captured and recorded, management information for seamless reproduction can be generated separately from the moving image data, and thus the generated management information can be recorded in association with the moving image data.
On the other hand, in recording moving image data in real time with a digital video camera, it is necessary to generate management information each time and at the same time as moving image data is recorded. However, the above-mentioned seamless information cannot be generated before completely recording subsequent moving image data. Thus, in recording moving image data in real time, management information cannot be generated before subsequent moving image data is completely recorded.
Accordingly, in the case of recording moving image data in real time, seamless information cannot be recorded on a recording medium at the same time as recording the moving image data.